DEVOTION - SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 10, 2011

SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 10, 2011Follow us on Facebook1

“Cross of Christ”

FROM

THE BAPTIST BIBLE HOUR

You, that were…alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now hath he reconciled in the body of his flesh through death, to present you holy and unblameable and unreproveable in his sight– Colossians 1:21-22

One word with which Paul frequently sums up the accomplishment of the cross is “reconciliation,” the bringing together of two parties that were previously at odds.

Here in Colossians Paul describes in detail why this reconciliation was necessary. First, you (and every other human being) were alienated from God, pitted against Him both in your mind and in your wicked actions.

There is not a person in the world who is by nature at peace with God. While we love to invent our own ideas and images of God, we resist His authority over us and His self-revelation to us, in the Bible. We would a thousand times rather live our own way than submit to His perfect and just and good way.

And for this reason, we are unacceptable in God’s sight. He is good and we are evil. He is right and we are wrong. He is holy and we are dirty. But Jesus, Paul announces, has reconciled us through His death on the cross.

No longer are we dirty and guilty and wrong in God’s sight, if we are Christ’s. Because He sees us in Christ, God now views us as holy, unblameable, and unreproveable!

And the clear implication is that, for those who are now in Christ, they have been reconciled to God in their minds and in their actions. No longer do they strive to rebel against His authority; they now strive to please and uphold God’s glory.

What about you? Are you in Christ? Have you been reconciled to God?

DEVOTION - FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 9. 2011

FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 9, 2011Follow us on Facebook1

“I am the LORD who sanctifies you.”

BY

DR ED YOUNG
Exodus 31:13

Sanctification is setting apart something or someone for the exclusive use of something else. The bride and groom vow that they are “forsaking all others.” Being sanctified by and for God is the commitment of your whole being for Him alone. Sanctification is to be made holy, and is both an event and a process. The moment you receive Christ, you are holy in God’s sight, because you have the righteousness of His spotless Son. But the process of sanctification happens in the material world, as you progressively place more and more of yourself under His complete control. This leads to practical living consistent with your heavenly character.

DEVOTION - WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 7, 2011

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 7, 2011

“Faith Is Creative!”

BY

ALISTAIR BEGG

Mark 2:4

Faith is full of creativity. The house was full, a crowd blocked the entry, but faith found a creative way of getting to the Lord and placing the paralytic before Him. If we cannot get sinners to Jesus by ordinary methods, we must use extraordinary ones. It seems, according to Luke 5:19, that roof tiles had to be removed. That would create dust and cause a measure of danger to those below; but where the case is very urgent, we must be prepared to run some risks and shock some people. Jesus was there to heal, and therefore roof or no roof, faith ventured all so that the poor paralytic might have his sins forgiven. We need more daring creative faith among us! Dear reader, let us seek it this morning for ourselves and for our fellow-workers and try today to perform some gallant act for the love of souls and the glory of the Lord.

The world is constantly creating and inventing; genius serves all the purposes of human desire: Can't faith invent too and by some creative means reach the people who are strangers to the Gospel? It was the presence of Jesus that stirred this victorious courage in the four friends of the paralytic. Is the Lord still present among us? Have we seen His face for ourselves this morning? Have we felt His healing power in our own souls? If so, then through the door or the window or the roof let us overcome every hindrance in bringing others to Jesus.

When faith and love are truly set on winning souls, we will learn to be creative in our approach. If hunger for bread can break through stone walls, surely hunger for souls is not to be hindered in its efforts. O Lord, make us quick to suggest and employ methods of reaching our friends and neighbors and of introducing them to You!

DEVOTION - TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 6, 2011

TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 6, 2011

“Seeing and sharing the things of God”

BY

DR JACK GRAHAM

For this reason, because I have heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love toward all the saints, I do not cease to give thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers, that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you a spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him, having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints...

Ephesians 1:15-18

For 51 years, Bob Edens was blind. His world was full of constant darkness and for 5 decades he had never seen the light of day. But one day, a miraculous surgery was performed and for the very first time in his life, he saw.

It’s interesting some of the things that Bob Eden said. For example, he made observations like, “I would have never dreamed that yellow is so yellow." And he also made remarks like, “It’s amazing to see a jet plane flying across the sky leaving a vapor trail!”

But one of the most profound things Bob said was, “For those of you who’ve always seen, you'll never know how wonderful it is.” And really, that's the same idea that Paul is talking about in today's passage.

Thanks to the gift of the Holy Spirit in the lives of believers, you can know the things of God because the eyes of your heart have been enlightened. But there are still people around you every day who are blind to that reality. So as you live your life, give others a glimpse of the things of God in your life and pray for Him to open their eyes!

YOU'VE BEEN GIVEN THE AMAZING GIFT OF BEING ABLE TO SEE THE THINGS OF GOD. SO LIVE YOUR LIFE TO SHARE THAT REALITY WITH THOSE WALKING IN DARKNESS.

For more from PowerPoint Ministries and Dr. Jack Graham, please visit www.jackgraham.org

DEVOTION - MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 5, 2011

MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 5, 2011

“God's Clear Instructions “

BY

DR CHARLES F STANLEY

Joshua 6:1-5

Joshua needed guidance as he faced one of the most crucial moments of his life. Because the Lord had promised him success in conquering Jericho, he knew the outcome of the battle, but as the day of combat approached, he needed a specific strategy for victory. What he heard the Lord say must have made his jaw drop.

Can you imagine the soldiers' thoughts as they carried out this bizarre battle strategy? In confusing times like this, it's good to remember three requirements for benefiting from God's instructions. We need:

• Faith to believe the Lord

• Courage to obey Him

• Patience to wait for His timing.

When God gives us clear instruction through His Word or His Spirit within us, our response shows how much we trust Him. If we truly believe Him and His promises, precise and complete obedience will follow. His victory in any area of struggle is available only to those who act upon His directions.

Submitting to the Lord's timing is also an essential part of obedience. What would have happened if the army decided to bypass God's plans for the first six days and skip straight to the seventh day's march around Jericho? They would have missed the victory.

How often do we beg the Lord for guidance, yet hesitate to obey when He finally gives it? Living by faith can seem like a huge risk when His instructions make no sense or require a lengthy wait. But knowing His eternal perspective and unlimited power can strengthen our resolve to obey.

For more biblical teaching and resources from Dr. Charles Stanley, please visit www.intouch.org

DEVOTION - SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 3, 2011

SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 3, 2011

“In Touch with God”

BY

GREG LAURIE

Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need. —Hebrews 4:16

I love praying with kids. They do their kid things that are so cute. Sometimes their prayers are heartfelt and so sincere, while at other times, they will be cheating or not praying at all.

We adults tend to attach a lot of emphasis to the verbiage that we use in prayer or to the length of our prayers, but God doesn’t care about those things so much. He is not really interested in the eloquence of our prayers. And He certainly is not impressed by long prayers. In fact, the great prayers of the Bible are brief. I believe that our prayers in private should be long, while our prayers in public should be short. But the main thing is that we need to be praying.

So what is the objective of prayer? Is it to tell God something He doesn’t know? Or is it to convince God to do something that He doesn’t necessarily want to do? The answer is no. God knows all things, and God will do what He will do.

Then why pray? The value of prayer is that it keeps us in touch with God. Prayer should be thought of as a relationship between a father and child. We may think that God will give us everything that we need, for every situation, all at once. But if God were to give us all of His glorious gifts in one lump sum, there would be the danger of enjoying the gifts and forgetting the Giver.

God gives us what we need as we need it. This also keeps us dependent on Him, not unlike a child who receives an allowance from a parent.

In the same way, we need to come back to God each day, finding “grace to help in time of need.”

Summary sentence: The value of prayer is that it keeps us in touch with our Father!

Tags: prayer, grace

Copyright © 2011 by Harvest Ministries. All rights reserved.

Scripture taken from the New King James Version. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

DEVOTION - FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 2. 2011

FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 2, 2011

“When things go from bad to worse”

BY

PETER BRISCO

“I can’t sleep.” –J. M. Barrie, author of Peter Pan

He could see it in their eyes. They were starting to get scared. This was not some sort of parable or illustration… this was for real. Jesus was telling them of His impending death and departure, and Judas had already left the group, destined to set in motion the events that would climax in His innocent blood being shed.

“Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in me. My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am.” —John 14:1-3

Jesus knew that over the next hours, days, months, and years His disciples would have to learn how to trust and believe Him. He knew that in centuries to come, we would need to learn the same. In His final discourse to the disciples, and His future encouragement to us, His teachings were twofold: the Spirit will be in you on earth, and I will come back for you one day. Trust Me—I have it all figured out.

Jesus, What can I do but praise You for Your provision? You have given me everything and the only thing I truly need on earth: Your Spirit in me. I trust and believe in You. Even when circumstances on earth go from bad to worse, I trust and believe in You. And on the other side? I trust and believe that You will be coming back to take me to a place prepared for me. I trust and believe. Amen.

Listen to Pete, Jill & Stuart Briscoe on the Telling the Truth broadcast at OnePlace.com